Flow control and shut-off valve for gravity type larry car



111 910' LGWCKER 3,511,391

' FLOWCONTROL AND snu r o'FF VALVE FQR GRAVITY TYPE LARRY CAR Filed March 10, 1969 I NVENTOR. [ht W000 6. TUCKER United States Patent 3,511,391 FLOW CONTROL AND SHUT-OFF VALVE FOR GRAVITY TYPE LARRY CAR Linwood G.'Tucker, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Koppers Company, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 10, 1969, Ser. No. 805,663 Int. Cl. C10b 35/00 US. Cl. 214-36 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention For many years, coke plant operators and designers have tried various apparatus for reducing air pollution when charging coal into a heated coking chamber. In most instances, the apparatus has not proved to be entirely satisfactory, and those that are satisfactory are costly and are fraught with operating difiiculties.

In a gravity-feed larry car, one of the principal difliculties is obtaining adequate coal flow when the coal is wetter than normal. Coal that is wetter than normal tends to hang up by bridging and does not flow from the coal bin at all. Under such conditions, manual working of the bridged coal is required.

How the equipment of the present invention overcomes the dilficulties encountered in operating prior art apparatus is set forth in the following description of one embodiment of the present invention and is exemplified in the drawing thereof.

Summary of the invention A vertically movable boot is mounted beneath a coal bin of a larry car and within the boot there is a bell hopper and a vertically movable bell adapted to coact with said bell hopper. Means is provided to lower the boot and bell while coacting with the bell hopper so that the boot seats in a coal charging opening. Means is provided to raise the bell to pass coal through the boot into a coking chamber, and means is provided to lower the bell to shut oif the flow of coal. Other means is provided to raise both the boot and the bell simultaneously.

For a further understanding of the invention and for features and advantages thereof, reference may be made to the following description in conjunction with the drawing which shows one embodiment of the invention.

Brief description of the drawing In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a portion of a coke battery with a larry car equipped with apparatus in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view, at an enlarged scale, of the apparatus in accordance with the invention, shown in one operative position;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the apparatus of FIG. 2 shown in another operative position;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of mechanism for operating the apparatus of FIGS. 2 and 3; and

FIG. 5 is a view along line VV of FIG. 4.

Detailed description FIG. 1 illustrates, in transverse cross-section through a coking chamber 11, the upper corner portion of a coke oven battery 13. A conventional larry car 15 is movable on rails 17 (only one being shown) and is provided with a plurality of coal bins 19. Each coal bin or hopper 19 has at the bottom, apparatus 21 in accordance with the invention.

The apparatus 21 includes a frusto-conical boot 23 which is provided at its lower end with an enlargement 25 having an outer surface that is adapted to contact and form a seal with a tapered portion 27 of a conventional coal charging opening 29 in the top of the coke battery 13, as suggested in FIG. 2.

Within the boot 23, there is a frusto-conical bell hopper 31 and a bell 33 that is attached to one end of an actuating rod 35. Above the bell hopper 31 and bell 33, there is positioned in the coal bin or hopper 19, a frustoconical, anti-bridging member 37 that is fixed in position by laterally extending arms of a spider 39.

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically how the boot 23, bell hopper 31, and bell 33 may be simultaneously lowered into position shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 shows one way the boot 23 may be supported.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the boot 23 is surrounded in spaced relation by a circular band 41, which is connected to the boot 23 by pivot pins 43 that are arranged diametrically opposed. The band 41 is supported by a yoke 45 connected to pins 47 that are arranged also diametrically opposite and at to the pins 43.

The yoke 45 is mounted to one end of a lever 49 which is pivoted at 51 and which is pin connected to :a pistoncylinder assembly 53. The piston-cylinder assembly 53 is pivotallyconnected to a suitable support 55 mounted to the larry car 15.

In like manner, the actuating rod 35 is also pivotally connected to a lever 57 that is pivoted at 59 and is pivotally connected to a piston-cylinder assembly 61. The piston-cylinder assembly 61 is also pivotally connected to a suitable support 63 mounted to the larry car 15.

In operation, the larry car 15 is spotted in the usual manner over a coking chamber 11 that is to be charged with coal. After the charging hole lids (not shown) have been removed in the usual manner, the piston-cylinders 53 and 61 are actuated simultaneously so that the boot 23, the bell hopper 31, and bell 33 move downward as a unit from the position shown in FIG. 3, until the boot 23 seats in the charging hole tapered portion 27, as shown in FIG. 2. Then, the piston-cylinder 61 is actuated in the reverse direction to raise the bell 33 from the bell hopper 31. Coal which is in the coal hopper 19 and in the bell hopper 31 also, then gravitates into the coking chamber 11.

After the coal fills the coking chamber and it is time to level .the coal, the piston-cylinder 61 is actuated to lower the bell 33 against the bell hopper 31. As soon as the coal has been leveled, it may be desirable to charge additional coal into the coking chamber. Whereupon, the bell 31 is raised again and lowered after the coal stops flowing into the coking chamber. Levelling may be done again and then both the piston-cylinders 53 and 61 may be actuated simultaneously to raise the boot 23, the bell hopper 31, and bell 33, in the seated position, to the inoperative pistion shown in FIG. 3.

Then, the lids may be replaced on the coking chamber 11 and the larry car is free to move to another chamber that is to be charged with coal.

Those skilled in the art will recognize several features and adavntages in the present invention among which are:

That the vertically movable boot readily forms a seal with the charging hole to prevent the escape of gases when the oven chamber is under pressure and also to prevent the inrush of air when the oven chamber is under suction during charging of the coking chamber.

That the bell and bell hopper within the boot provide a flow regulator and a positive stop-flow valve for coal;

That the bell, bell hopper, and flow regulator prevent the bridging of coal in the hopper and in the boot; and

That close tolerances between the bell and the bell hopper are not required to provide the positive control and regulation of coal flow mentioned herein.

What is claimed is:

1. In a coke oven battery having a larry car carrying coal in storage bins for charging coke oven chambers through charging holes, the improvement comprising:

(a) a vertically movable boot mounted to said larry car and beneath a coal bin;

(b) a bell hopper mounted within said boot;

(c) a bell disposed in said boot and movable so as to coact with said bell hopper;

(d) means to lower said boot into cooperative relation with said charging hole;

(e) means to simultaneously lower said bell along with said boot, said bell coacting with said bell hopper to prevent the flow of coal from said bin through said boot;

(f) means to raise said bell after said boot is seated against said charging hole whereby said coal flows from said bin through said boot into said coking chamber; and

(g) means to lower said bell into cooperative relation with said bell hopper to shut off the flow of coal through said boot.

2. The invention of claim 1 including:

(a) means to raise simultaneously said boot and said bell with said bell being in cooperative relation with said bell hopper.

3. The invention of claim 1 wherein:

(a) said means to lower said boot includes:

(i) a band surrounding said boot in spaced relalation, (ii) diametrically opposed first pins pivotally connecting said boot to said band, (iii) a yoke surrounding said band in spaced relation, 1 (iv) second pins pivotally connecting said yoke to said band with said second pins being arranged along a diameter of said boot that is disposed from the diametrically opposed first pins, r (v) a pivot supporting said lever; and (vi) a piston-cylinder connected to said lever for pivoting said yoke and boot about said pivot and lowering said boot. 4. The invention of claim 1 wherein: (a) said means to raise and lower said bell includes:

(i) a rod connected to said bell, (ii) a lever pivotally connected to said rod, (iii) a pivot supporting said lever, (iv) a piston-cylinder pivotally connected to said lever for pivoting said lever and thereby raising and lowering said bell.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

